Strawberry leaves in a hole - what to do?

There may be several reasons why strawberries have leaves in a hole. It is clear that holes are not formed by themselves. Small holes, as a rule, arise as a result of an attack by insects or from diseases affecting bushes. If this is mechanical damage - for example, as a result of wind exposure - then they are insignificant and unevenly distributed over the foliage. Having accurately established the cause of the holes, you must immediately take measures to eliminate it.

Pests that damage strawberry leaves

Strawberries have their own specific pests that can seriously damage its leaves. At the initial stages of infection, insects can be fought with folk remedies; in more advanced cases, industrial insecticides are used.

Strawberry leaf beetle

Often, the strawberry leaf beetle becomes the culprit for holes in the strawberry leaves. The pest looks like a brown beetle about 4 mm in size. At first, the leaf beetle gnaws small holes, and then completely destroys the leaf.

In addition to being voracious, the beetle is also fertile. For a month, the female is able to lay up to 200 eggs, hiding clutches on the underside of the leaves. After 2 weeks, no less voracious larvae are born, which also feed on leafy tissue.

In nature, the number of leaf beetles is controlled by ground beetles and bedbugs. On strawberry plantations, the parasite is capable of massively multiplying - as a result, there is a threat of loss of all plantations.

You can fight the pest by treating strawberry bushes with herbal infusions with the addition of soap. Garlic, wormwood, dandelion are suitable for these purposes. For a bucket of water, use 200-300 g of plant materials. The mood should be prepared for 4-6 hours, after which it is filtered, 40 g of soap shavings are added and the bushes are sprayed, abundantly wetting the leaves.

Dry mustard can be used as a deterrent. It is poured into a gauze bag and sprayed onto strawberries, spending 200 g per 1 square meter of planting.

The following means are destroyed from insecticides of the strawberry leaf beetle:

• "Karbofos";
• Actellik;
• "Bankol";
• "Decis".

During the fruiting period, it is recommended to use biological preparations:

• "Agravertin";
• "Aktofit";
• Fitoverm;
• "Vertimek".

Beforehand, you can collect the larvae and adult beetles by hand or wash off the insects with water from a hose.

Raspberry and strawberry weevil

In appearance, the raspberry-strawberry weevil is a small dark bug, no more than 3 mm in length. Its food is strawberry leaves, buds and flowers. The female pest hibernates in young leaves rolled up in a tube. In the spring, weevils begin to reproduce, laying an egg in each bud. One female can damage up to 50 buds per season.

As soon as the larvae are born, they immediately begin to feed on leafy tissue. You can notice the presence of the raspberry-strawberry weevil on the leaves in a small hole. The holes have smooth edges, which makes it easy to distinguish a bug from various diseases. Attentive gardeners can notice the presence of pests even earlier, when insects begin to eat out the flower stalks and the tissue turns black.

If single holes appear, it is necessary to urgently treat the strawberries with a 3% solution of "Karbofos".

In advanced cases, planting is treated with drugs:

• "Corsair";
• "Karate";
• "Kemifos";
• Fufanon Nova.

If pests appear on strawberries during fruiting, biological preparations (Fitoverm, Cesar) or folk remedies, such as garlic solution, are used. At the initial stage of infection, tobacco dust can also help - it is powdered with strawberry leaves.

Fallen leaves and buds must be removed from strawberry beds in a timely manner. In spring and autumn, the weevil is shaken off onto film and destroyed.

Nettle weevil

The pest has a turquoise-green color and measures up to 12 mm in length. As a result of his attack, young strawberry leaves suffer - the weevil evenly nibbles along the edge. Another sign of a pest attack is bud falling during flowering.

Insect larvae, in addition to the leaves, gnaw at the roots. In addition to garden strawberries, the pest can attack raspberries.

Digging the soil during bud formation and after harvesting helps to destroy insects.

To protect strawberries from the nettle-leaf weevil during the formation of flower brushes, plants are sprayed:

• "Karbofos";
• "Fufanon";
• "Alatarom".

The drugs are used according to the instructions in dry, cloudy weather. After 7-10 days, the treatment will need to be repeated.

Since the weevil lays eggs in the upper layers of the soil, one of the important conditions for successful control of it is compliance with the rules of crop rotation. Strawberries should not be grown in the same area for more than 4 years.

Diseases causing leaf perforation

The appearance of holes on the leaves of strawberries can also be a symptom of one of the fungal diseases that have a unifying name - spotting. In addition, diseases have other characteristic manifestations.

Anthracnose (black spot)

The disease is considered insidious due to the fact that it has a long incubation period and does not manifest itself for a long time. In this case, the mycelium is already conducting its destructive activity, affecting all parts of the plant.

The initial sign of the disease is the appearance of dark spots on the leaves, resembling burns. A little later, the damaged tissue dries up and crumbles. The strawberry leaves become perforated.

Damp hot weather favors the development of the disease. Spores are easily carried by the wind, by drops of water, and can get from one plant to another through contaminated equipment.

Since the disease is often detected already at an advanced stage, folk remedies are ineffective in its treatment. Bushes with signs of severe infestation are recommended to be removed and burned.

The rest of the plants are sprayed with copper chloride and other fungicidal preparations:

• Ridomil Gold;
• "Kuproksat";
• Previkur Energy;
• "Acrobat MC";
• Fundazol;
• "Quadris".

Processing is carried out three times before flowering. It is not recommended to use chemical preparations after the buds appear. If signs of disease persist in the later stages of the growing season, it is better to mow the leaves after harvest. Infected plant residues are burned.

Ramulariasis (white spot)

White spot got its name due to the fact that it manifests itself by the appearance of small whitish spots with a brown border. Over time, the spots dry out, holes form in their place. The disease is considered very harmful due to the high viability of the spores and the ease with which they spread. Watering with cold water aggravates the development of the disease.

For the first time, white spot can manifest itself at different stages of the growing season. If measures are not taken in time to combat ramulariasis, you can completely lose the crop, since the fungus infects all parts of the plant.

1. First of all, the affected leaves are removed and burned.
2. Then the strawberries are sprayed with fungicides. Moreover, it is also necessary to process the top layer of the soil - due to the fact that the mycelium may be in the root zone.

In order not to bring the pathogen of white spot to the site, attention should be paid to the quality of the seedlings and only healthy plants should be purchased. In addition, it is necessary to follow the rules of agricultural technology and provide the strawberries with good care.

When the initial symptoms of planting appear, they are sprayed with 1 percent Bordeaux liquid or drug solutions:

• "Kuproksat",
• "Bayleton",
• "Euparen".

After 2 weeks, the treatment will need to be repeated. For preventive purposes, spraying is carried out at the stage of leaf regrowth, during the appearance of buds and after harvest.

Brown spot

The disease manifests itself in the initial stages by the appearance of dark spots on all aerial parts of the plant, including fruits. Young shoots and leaves are especially vulnerable. The peak of the disease occurs in late summer and the first month of autumn. At first, the spots are dark purple in color, then they turn brown or red. In the future, the affected areas dry out, and holes appear in their place.

The causative agent of the disease successfully hibernates on the soil surface, and with the arrival of heat it activates and begins to actively multiply. Thickened plantings, high humidity, and the presence of plant debris contribute to the development of the disease.

Due to the high severity of the disease, the affected bushes are completely destroyed, since if they are left, the infection will continue to spread throughout the area. Then the bed is weeded and cleaned, and the strawberries are fed with phosphorus-potassium fertilizers.

To destroy the fungus, strawberries are treated three times with 1% Bordeaux mixture or copper oxychloride. The procedure will need to be carried out when the leaves grow, during the budding period and after picking the berries.

In case of mass defeat, drugs will help:

• Ridomil Gold;
• "Hom";
• "Speed".

The solution must definitely fall on the underside of the leaves.

When starting the laying of a new strawberry bed, it is advisable to choose varieties that are resistant to brown spot.

To maintain the planting of strawberries in good condition, you need to place them in a suitable place, weed and feed them in a timely manner, remove the mustache, preventing overgrowth. If holes appear on the leaves, you should immediately identify the culprit and carry out the appropriate treatment.